MLB Draft Preview: Illinois

In the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2 players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists. Please visit this page for all of the links to Perfect Game's 2013 Draft Preview content.

Illinois State-by-State List
It
has been a very down year for the state of Illinois in 2013, as it’s
possible to create scenarios where no high school or four-year
college player is drafted within the top 10 rounds. No high school
player is considered a lock for what is traditionally considered a
“signing” round for college bound high school prospects and the
most draftable four-year college players are seniors.

The
saving grace of the state this year has been the quality of play,
both by the prospects and many of the teams, at the junior college
level. At least five junior college players, led by Heartland CC
left handed pitcher Daniel Lietz and Lincoln Land CC outfielder Ryan
Aper, could be top 10 round picks. Heartland CC (41-9), Kaskaskia CC
(36-10) and Wabash Valley CC (44-14) have been fixtures in the
Perfect Game JUCO Top 50 rankings all season.

GROUP
2 (rounds 4-10)1.
ZACH BURDI, rhp, Downers Grove South HSBurdi
is a completely different athlete and pitcher than his 6-foot-4,
225-pound brother Nick at Louisville, but the intrigue of his
brother’s development is not lost on the scouting community. Nick
Burdi (3-2, 0.64, 14 saves, 55 strikeouts in 28 innings) is a
potential top half of the first round talent for the 2014 draft in
the classic big power closer model and has been topping out in the
100-plus range this spring. Zach Burdi is a slimmer and looser
athlete at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds and comes at hitters from a loose
armed, low- to mid- three-quarters arm angle. He pitches mostly
around 90 mph with lots of run and sink down in the strike zone but
has been as high as 94 mph at times. Burdi’s changeup is his most
advanced off speed pitch, with similar movement to his fastball with
good arm speed in the low-80s. Developing a more consistent breaking
ball is Burdi’s biggest priority moving to the next level. His
lower whippy arm slot causes him to get under his mid- to upper-70s
slurve frequently, flattening the pitch out. Burdi has the overall
athleticism and projectable build to project with his overall stuff,
notable as his brother did not have the same traits out of high
school but still has gained five mph on his own fastball. He is
signed with Iowa.

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